Corn Starch

In science class a few days ago we did an experiment with corn starch to demonstrate how the inside of the earth works. First, we pured some corn starch in a beaker and then added some water and food coloring. This was supposed to show the plasticity in the earth. When i held the liquid in my hand it oozed out onto the table but when rubbed together and moved around, it hardened. This was supposed to show how when the molted metal under the tectonic plates moved they would stay in place and it showed that they had the ability to change from both soiled and liquid. This was a messy experiment but was very educational and i enjoyed it. In conclusion, i got an idea of how the outer core functioned.

Movie

In school, our unit watched a movie, " October Sky". This movie is about four students, and friends who are trying to purse there dream of winning a national science fair by making a rocket. After seeing a space orb launched by the Russians in the sky it influenced them to make a rocket that could reach space. Where these boys lived, Virginia coal mining was extremely common and most of there family's and fathers worked in the near by coal mine. Unfortunately family members were exposed to disease which impacted the boys in the movie and also cares( cooperation assertion responsibility empathy self control) was very significant in the movie.
People who have worked in both under ground and above ground coal mines can experience life threatening diseases and other minor symptoms. For example, a sever disease is black lung. This is cause by inhaling the coal dust for a long time. People who have worked in coal mines almost all their life or people with out a mask to cover there mouth may get Black Lung. This terrible disease is similar to what smoking does to your lungs. The dust builds up in your lungs and it then forms like a sticky tar like fluid, causes other symptoms and it cannot be removed. A few symptoms from this disease are inflammation, fibrosis and necrosis. From 1994 to 2004 over 1400 0 coal minors in the U.S. alone died of Black Lung. Next, some of the symptoms that patients suffer with are Shortness of breath and pain but these are the most minor problems. Other more serious and complicated issues are lung dysfunctions, pulmonary hypertension, and cor pulmonary. This is one of the most deadly diseases that you can get from working in coal mines.
In the movie "October Sky" cooperation is used by the four boys trying to build a rocket. They worked together in order to build a small shack for rocket testing and all researched and created rocket models. without cooperation they most likely wouldn't have been able to get as far as they did with chasing their dream to create the best rocket they could. Assertion was an extremely important characteristic for the main character,( the one who wanted to start building a rocket.) In his class for school there was a nerdy kind who knew everything about rockets and space. Unfortunately he was not popular or cool so if Homer was to talk and hang out with him everyone would also think he to was a nerd and un-cool. Homer used assertion and even though kids called him weirdo he became friends with him and they begun building rockets together. Since homer used assertion he was taught every thing he needed to know about rockets. A time when responsibility was shown in the movie October Sky, was when homer worked in the coal mines to support his family because his dad was sick from working in the mines. This shows responsibility because Homer, almost being the oldest thought that it was his job to help the family in there time of need. Homers brother showed empathy for him at the football try outs when his friend kept knocking Homer on his butt because he was a better line man. To show that he felt bad for his brother, he told him to go easy on him because he wasn't good. Last, self-control could have actually been used more in this movie. An example of when it could have been used is by Homers dad. Homers dad though his rocket equipment out side in the rain just because he didn't like that he wanted to build rockets. Although he felt this way he should have talked to Homer First.
In conclusion, the movie, October Sky showed some of the effects of mining as well as cares( cooperation, assertion, responsibility,empathy and self-control). This was a great movie and educational at the same time. I would recommend this movie to any one interested in rocket science and teachers wanting a movie for their students.

Cystic Fibrosis

After researching a blog on Cystic Fibrosis, I have learned the symptoms that patients have faced with this disease. From this blog I found out that people with this disease have to deal with lung infections, wheezing, shortness of breath, and coughing. These are just some of the normal effects from this disease. Some worse symptoms are when mucus clogs the lungs and then destroys the pancreas, which would cause even more worse problems. A treatment to help control mucus is an exercises to clear your lungs from mucus or flem. Like the genetic disease, Sickle Cell Amenia, Cystic Fibrosis shortens the life span of patients with it to about thirty seven years old. I think that this is terrible because if you are suffering from this disease and then find out you will probably die around the age of thirty seven is devastating. I belive this was a very well writen blog and really shows how difficult peoples lives are when they are suffering from Cystic Fibrosis. In conclusion, genetic disorders are sicknesses which lots of money and time should be put into to figure out cures or better treatments.

http://ashanima.blogspot.com/

Sickle Cell Anemia

In 1904, the disease Sickle Cell Anemia was discovered and explained to patients and other doctors every where. If you are a patient with this disease, some symptoms you may encounter are restricted blood flow to your organs, which can result in terrible pain. Also, it can lead to organ damage. Although, there are many serious conditions, some minor conditions which are also signs of the disease are frequent headaches, fevers, chest pains and difficulty breathing. Unfortunately Sickle Cell Anemia shortens both male and female patients life span to about 42 to 48 years old. This disease is extremely common in African Americans of both gender. About one in every five thousand black children have it and 1 in every 36000 Hispanic children get it. There isn't a cure for this genetic disease but treatments can help. Keeping yourself hydrated helps and analgesics. Other treatments like bone marrow transplants and blood transfusions are an option. In the molecular level of the cell if there is a second allel absent you can get Sickle Cell Anemia. This means that a person that only has one copy of the mutate allel will get Sickle Cell Anemia. To help develop new treatments, scientist should research how sickle cell Anemia effects bones as well as bone marrow. This disease destroys bone marrow and although there are surgery's to get bone marrow transplants, many people do not have the money to afford these treatments. Therefore, they should try to either find a medicine or a shot to help slow the process of the destruction of bones and bone marrow, or stop it completely. Unfortunately, research on cells is complicated and finding cures is time consuming and requires money. In my opinion, Sickle Cell Aneimia is one of the numerous devastating disease which like cancer has no cures and effects both adults, children and the elderly. On the other hand, this disease is not as common as cancer and although i feel empathy for those who have it, sicknesses like cancer are more important because cancer takes many children and adults lives.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle-cell_disease

Lab

My prediction for the Lab is that When all of the items are mixed and then combined into the test tube the water will show particles of our saliva. I thought this because once the Lysol and alcohol were put in with the blue sports drink, the blue turned clear making everything in it visible. Through the experiment, I observed that the sports drink took up 8 mm in the test tube and then with the Lysol it move it up 2 mm. Also, the liquid began to lighten. Next when i was holding the tube and it was warm. I think it was warm because that is the temperature of the saliva. For the last step, when the alcohol was added, little white specks became visible on the sides of the tube. I believe that these specks are parts of spit. The results were that those white pieces were actually your DNA. I think that this result occurred because from putting the drink in your mouth and then putting back into the tube, some of your DNA that was in your spit went into it. Therefore when the other materials were placed in the tube they helped to show the DNA better.
The Reliability of this experiment depends on how much DNA is shown in the tube. So you may see DNA or just your saliva in the liquid. This means that the experiment can be reliable in some situations but not in others. An uncontrolled variable may have been time. After the experiment was complete, the tubes were suppose to sit for about 15 minutes. Due to shortened periods, i don't think it was left alone long enough. So if it did sit longer it may have showed more DNA. The experiment was controlled by the amount of liquids used. I learned form the lab that DNA is also in parts of your body like spit and that it is visible from the human eye if experimented correctly. Last, i can apply this knowledge to the real world by not only knowing a fun way to see DNA but learning that it can be extracted by the body. This can be done by doing something as simple as putting water or anything in your mouth and taking it out.

My Roller Coaster Website

The XY Turtle Blazer

Stimulus Pakage

The stimulus package consists of 787 billion dollars and will be used to help the ailing economy. Part of the plan is to reduce home owner's current mortgage payments. This will give homeowners extra money to be used on other necessities. The stimulus package was signed on February 17, 2009 and this will, "Set our economy on firmer foundation."(This is just to help the economy and not fully fix it.) Next, a large amount of this money will be being used to help repair roads, bridges, transit,and build new schools. Also, if you are thinking of purchasing a new car or house, this package will give you tax breaks. Therefore, it is an excellent time to buy! I believe while this package lasts, the economy will grow better but the money will not last forever. The government may have to go back and think about something similar to the Stimulus Package. Also, I fear if the package doesn't work, the economy may just grow worse. An example would be, people who bought houses when the money was helping them to afford one would quickly lose their homes once the stimulus package is over. Poverty and unemployment would grow. This would happen because the mortgages would go back up to normal prices, so houses may become unaffordable. As you can see, there are many positive and possibly negative affects from this stimulus package.

Link:http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-02-12-stimulus-package-effects_N.htm

Link: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=6886824&page=1

Link:http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/u/united_states_economy/economic_stimulus/index.html

Wind Turbines

Due to the lack of wind in the United States, blackouts may become more frequent. Without wind to power our wind turbines, the amount of energy in the US has declined. The loss of wind energy in the USA is much worse then if a county in Europe was to have less energy. This is because there are many different climates and local geography. Also, wind powered energy is the leading renewable energy. Because of this lack of wind, INESC Porto was requested to make a new wind platform in order to reduce wind power and costs of the machines working.Wind platforms are similar to oil rig platforms in the oceans, but instead will hold wind turbines. The reason why they will be placed in the ocean is because wind is not obstructed in the ocean. These platforms should be operating in 2010 . I think this is a very clever idea and will increase the amount of energy produced by these mills. As you can see, scientists are coming up with energy solutions everyday to help improve our earth.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090204085311.htm

Link: http://www.windplatform.eu/

Earthquake in New Jersey

At 10:30 on Monday night, a 3.0 earthquake shook Victory Gardens and was felt in Rock away, Dover, and Morris Plains. Luckily, no injuries nor deaths occurred according to seismologist, Won-Young Kim from Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. Numerous frightened citizens frantically called 911 unsure of what had just happened. Some thought an explosion of some sort went off. A citizen of Victory Gardens, Mr. Smaga said, " there was a loud boom and then the building shook. The vibrations lasted around two or three seconds." For this region an earthquake of this magnitude is uncommon, although smaller earthquakes are not unexpected. As you can see, earthquakes can happen anywhere in the US.

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090203/ap_on_re_us/nj_earthquake.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/nyregion/new-jersey/03njquake.html?ref=us

Emporer Penguins

Due to the loss of essential aortic sea ice, Emperor penguins are facing extinction with in the next century. Researchers say that an emperor penguin population in Terrie Adelie will shrink from it normal size of 3,000 to a staggering 400breeding pairs in this amount of time. With out sea ice, penguins are unable to eat, breed, or molt. Also , krill a coruscation that lives in the Arctic thrives on the algae underneath sea ice. Krill is a food source for numerous animals including penguins. Therefore without sea ice the penguins will die of starvation . This is because fish also eat krill so there will be no fish to eat for the emperor penguins. I Believe if people avoid the use of traveling in short distances in cars by walking and should avoid using spray chemicals. By doing things like these you can help to stop global warming therefore ice will not decrease as fast, giving scientists time to make solutions. In conclusion, Emperor penguins are an amazing animal, but can only survive from choices humans make everyday.

Link:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090127090728.htm

Picture link:http://www.lodi.k12.wi.us/schools/PS/penguins/emperor_penguin.jpg

Inaguration

On January 20th 2009, during the inauguration, Barack H. Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Also, Joe Biden became the Vice President. Barack is the first African American President of the United States, which is a huge achievement on his part. This historical event was held in Washington D.C. at the Capitol. Although the temperature was cold, it didn't stop the millions of people from attending. People were stationed between the capitol and the Washington monument. Next, this inaugurating was the most costly one so far. In fact,75 million dollars was spent to make it possible. "Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet." This is part of President Obama's speech that shows all of the problems our country is facing and I believe that like Barack says, he will bring change. With a new president I think anything is possible.

After the inauguration, many events were held such as marching bands, floats, balls, and a luncheon. One of these special events was the inauguration parade. This is an American tradition that honors the newly sworn in president and vice president. The parade is open to the public and people couldn't line up for the parade till 7:00. Due to the parade, many roads were closed and the amount of security was larger than normal. Ten thousand people from 50 states will follow the vice president and president.I think this is one of the most special events after the inauguration. This is because everyone can go to it as well as its on TV so millions can watch it. Last, many citizens at the inauguration parade say that a ''black president is giving them allot of inspiration.''

With a new president comes new responsibilities and changes in our country. For millions of people they believe president barrack Obama will help to solve the many problems our country is faced with such as education, economy crisis, the war in Iraq and many more. In conclusion, i believe that Obama will change the united states for the best.

link:http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/InaugParade.htm

link:http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/the_inauguration_of_president.html

link:http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/20/obama.politics/index.html

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

The loggerhead sea turtles are a species of endangered aquatic turtles.

Unfortunately, every year 1000 of these beautiful turtles unfortunately die. Jim Balsiger is one researchers who is helping to identify threats to the the loggerhead sea turtle in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, as well as solutions. It is very important for many areas of the Atlantic where these turtles are commonly found to be safe. This is because these turtles travel and nest in numerous areas thorough their life. A few threats imposed on them are lack of habitat due to fishing netters, as well as the down sizing of their environment. The recovery of the loggerhead sea turtle will take a longer period of time to recover than any other species of turtle. Researchers claim the reason for this is because they are always being threaten by fish netters and it takes them longer to mature than other turtles. I believe if scientists find where sea turtles commonly travel, they will have a greater success with helping to save them from extinction.

Link:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090116163930.htm

Picture:http://www.underwater.com.au/content/1054/gallery_main.jpg

Prehistoric Dinosaur

In the Sahara Dessert, dinosaur explorers were on an expedition to find prehistoric fossils. They were very successful and possibly found two new species of dinosaurs. These ancient creatures are estimated to live about one hundred million years ago. They are plant eaters called Sauropod and are believed to stand at about 65 feet high. One researcher Ibrahim said," It was remarkable for them to discover two specimens as well as they may be completely new species." Another reason this is a major discovery is because it is unusual that a herbivore would be found in such a barren environment with such little vegetation. I believe that this will show people that barren desserts like the Sahara may have had plant life millions of years ago and various species of dinosaurs lived there. Researchers from the University of Portsmouth University, Collage Dublin , and University Hassan 11 were lead by Nizar Ibrahim, a palaeontologist on this expedition. As you can see, there are discoveries happening everyday and there may be thousands of dinosaur fossils waiting to be found.


Link:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081216114750.htm